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Mujahideen will 'not withdraw'

A leading Islamic militant group today dissociated itself from Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief's agreement to defuse tension in Kashmir and said it would not withdraw from the region.

''Pakistan may withdraw, but the Mujahideen (holy warriors) will not withdraw,'' Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba and head of the Markaz ud Dawa Wal Irshad organisation, said.

Saeed said Sharief did not speak for his organisation, one of several which have captured strategic heights in Kashmir, in his talks in Washington with President Bill Clinton.

''Pakistan should not accept any responsibility on behalf of the Mujahideen because those peaks are not in the Pakistani army or Pakistan government hands, but in our hands,'' he said. ''This is our work after 10 years of sacrifices. He has no right to assume responsibility.

''And if he (Sharief) does that he would lose his trust as people are fully behind the Mujahideen. This will become a problem for him politically. It is quite obvious that Sharief was unable to truly represent his people in Washington.''

UNI

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